My Experience as an Intern at TRI Princeton by Tracy Hervies

I'm an undergraduate student at the University of Toledo, studying Cosmetic Science and Formulation Design. Fall 2022 marks my final year in the program, and I will graduate in the spring. Despite how excited I am to complete my degree, I also feel very anxious about what I'll do when I'm done. I know that I want to start out working in a lab, but I don't have a specific idea yet.

Tracy Hervies — Undergraduate Student, University of Toledo

I work under Dr. Ernesta Malinauskyte’s team, but I specifically work with Xuzi Kang! We’ve spent a lot of time working with hair bulbs and, through testing, seeing the results of their antioxidation levels. The data we’ve collected so far has been surprising and I’ve been working alongside Xuzi from the very beginning of the project. So, I’ve had the chance to extract hair bulbs, make samples, and learn the basics of using a GC-MS to analyze the samples. Although I’ve spent most of my time working with Xuzi, I've had the chance to shadow and work with other teams. With Marquita Braxton’s help, I learned how to do treatments on hair and how to bleach tresses for future testing. I’m so thankful to have had this kind of flexibility, as it allowed me to learn from different people and, thus, adapt and build on my own work style.

As someone who has always felt lost in terms of career decisions, it has been great to meet people who started from diverse backgrounds and ended up at TRI. Hearing their stories has given me the confidence to be explorative and open to changes & risks.

If you are interested in an Internship in 2023, please contact TRI through the Contact Us section of our website.

A Summer Intern's Experience of Working at TRI

As a young aspiring individual in the field of cosmetic science, TRI has given me a home away from home where can I inculcate infinite knowledge about the industry among some of the smartest minds.

I recently joined TRI, in the summer of 2022, and have absolutely treasured every part of my experience so far. I never imagined being a part of an organization such as this one. As an ambitious international student in the United States, I have always fancied getting pragmatic opportunities along with pursuing my degree in Chemistry. TRI has been a safe space to express my identity. I was able to discover new hair techniques and methods, along with an encouragement of several supportive people. In my opinion, TRI has a great team of inspiring adults. Here at TRI, I realized that is okay to ask for help. Everyone helped me learn certain techniques, that they master at individually, to encourage me to overcome my goals and tasks.

The space at TRI is inspiring for young adults like myself. I loved skimming around the books we have here at TRI library. It was amazing to work in the labs at TRI, surrounded by beautiful trees and a river, on a research topic you passionately like.

Swimming Pool Water Study

Ernesta, my supervisor at TRI, is the most creative person I have met. She’s effortlessly smart, almost every time, and is also the one who motivated and instructed me to successfully carry out this study. Through this study, we observed and calculated the effect of the chlorine in pools around us on the texture of our hair by using different combing techniques. We got some interesting findings of prevention, such as specific controls of oils and conditioning, that we could use to protect our hair from getting damaged and brittle even by a casual swim in water.

I am also currently working with Ernesta on a color study which would inculcate the effects of chlorine and copper sulphate on our hair which often concern the visual appearance of the hair. I am very excited to share my findings soon at a TRI Research Forum as a summer intern at TRI.

---

Internships

If you are interested in an internship in 2023 contact TRI through the Contact Us section of the website

Summer Internship at TRI

Leila Sorrells is a Biomedical Engineer from South Florida University, and, last year, she partnered with TRI Princeton on a project to create a single fiber friction instrument, managing each step from developing the design through to the final fabrication. Leila worked for 10 months on her project in Florida, and in this summer, she was able to join TRI team in New Jersey to continue her work. We hope that this project will provide TRI members with a new and better way to test hair fibers.

Leila also worked on repairing and updating TRI’s single fiber torsion instrument, which has allowed easier data analysis. She also introduced TRI to 3D printing, a technique we are now able to use to create custom parts for research. We are excited about this new frontier and what it offers both our team and our company members.

Leila will now pursue her MS in BME from Columbia University, starting this Fall, where she hopes to continue pursuing personal care research and innovation.

We look forward to continuing working with Leila and wish her the best of luck for the future!

---

For more content about what is happening at TRI you can go to https://www.triprinceton.org/the-latest-at-tri